Day-to-day approvals for industries may be under RTS in Pb

To benefit existing industries, Punjab government has agreed in principle to bring various day-to-day approvals under the ambit of Right to Service Act (RTS).
Time-bound approvals and simplification of various industrial procedures were discussed in detail during a session chaired by Punjab Chief Secretary Sarvesh Kaushal with various industrial associations of the state here.
The state industrial associations raised issues being faced by existing industrial units and also gave suggestions to improve the industrial environment of the state.
The Chief Secretary asked the Department of industries to bring a proposal to get approval related services under the Right to Service Act, Punjab on the lines of 12 services brought under RTS Act by Department of Excise and Taxation and 206 services of various other departments.

The RTS Act Punjab was enacted with the sole objective of providing an effective framework for the time bound delivery of services being provided by various government departments in order to promote transparency and accountability.
Any official who does not deliver the services as per stipulated timelines will be penalised according to the provisions of the Act.

"Industries in Punjab deserve time-bound Government services and it is surprising as to why RTS provisions have not been extended to them so far," observed the Chief Secretary.
During the meeting, R S Sachdeva, Co-Chairman PHD Chamber of Commerce raised issues like higher Floor Area Ratio (FAR) for vertical expansion, reduction in collector rates for the industries to raise better liquidity and reduction of Railway charges.

Various VAT-related issues raised by industrial associations included process simplification, abolition of fourth stage verification and simplification of VAT refund procedure.
Kaushal assured the invitees that the state is committed to simplifying various industrial procedures for hassle free operations of industrialists.